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Jeff Hardy
Jeffery "Jeff" Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He is best know for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he was a former World Heavyweight Champion. As one half of The Hardy Boyz'' with his older brother, Matt, they captured the World Tag Team Championship 6 times and the WCW Tag Championship once. Wrestling history World Wrestling Federation The Hardy Boyz (1998–2002) The Hardy brothers eventually caught the eyes of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). After being signed to a contract in 1998, they were trained by Dory Funk, Jr. in his Funkin' Dojo with other notable wrestlers such as Kurt Angle, Christian, Test, and A-Train. When the team was finally brought up to WWF television, after months of 'jobbing' and house events, they formed the acrobatic tag team called the Hardy Boyz. While feuding with The Brood in mid-1999, they added Michael Hayes as their manager. On July 5, they won their first WWF Tag Team Championship by defeating the Acolytes, but lost it back to them a month later. After the dissolution of the Brood, the Hardys joined forces with Gangrel as the The New Brood and feuded with Edge and Christian. This stable did not last long, however, and on October 17, 1999 at No Mercy, the Hardy Boyz won the managerial services of Terri Runnels in the finals of the Terri Invitational Tournament in the WWF's first ever tag team ladder match against Edge and Christian. In 2000, the Hardy Boyz found a new manager in their real-life friend Lita. Together, the three became known as "Team Xtreme". They continued their feud with Edge and Christian throughout 2000, defeating them for the WWF Tag Team Titles on two occasions. At SummerSlam the Hardy Boyz competed in the first ever Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match (TLC match), for the Tag Team Titles against the Dudley Boys and Edge and Christian, but were unsuccessful. Hardy gained attention for his high risk stunts in the TLC matches in the year 2000, 2001, and 2002. He made a name for himself as one of the most seemingly reckless and unorthodox WWF performers of his time. In 2001, Hardy received a push as a singles competitor, and he held the WWF Intercontinental (defeating Triple H), Light Heavyweight (defeating Jerry Lynn) and Hardcore Championships (defeating Mike Awesome and Van Dam on two separate occasions). At the end of 2001, the Hardys began a storyline in which they began to fight, which led to Matt demanding a match at Vengeance, with Lita as special guest referee.31 After Hardy beat Matt at Vengeance, while Matt's foot was on the ropes, Hardy and Lita began feuding against Matt. In the middle of the feud, however, Hardy faced The Undertaker in a Hardcore Title match and lost. After the match, the Undertaker was scripted to attack both Hardy and Lita, injuring them. On the next edition of SmackDown!, the Undertaker also attacked Matt, also injuring him, in storyline. The Hardys and Lita were not seen again until the Royal Rumble, because WWE did not have another storyline for their characters. The Hardys later came back as a team, and there was never any mention of their previous storyline split. In early April 2002, the Hardy Boyz began a feud with Brock Lesnar after Lesnar gave Matt an F-5 on the steel entrance ramp, which led to an angered Hardy seeking revenge on Lesnar. At Backlash, Hardy faced-off against Lesnar in his first televised match. Lesnar dominated Hardy and won the match by knockout. Lesnar and the Hardys continued to feud over the next few weeks, with the Hardys coming out victorious only once by disqualification. At Judgment Day, Lesnar gained the upper hand on the Hardy Boyz before tagging his partner, Paul Heyman, in to claim the win for the team. In July 2002, Hardy won his third Hardcore Championship by defeating Bradshaw. Singles competition (2002–2003) After years in the tag team division, Hardy took on The Undertaker in a Ladder match for the Undisputed Championship. Hardy came up short, but earned the Undertaker's respect. Hardy competed for singles titles on several occasions and defeated William Regal for the WWE European Championship. Hardy was defeated a few weeks later by Rob Van Dam in a match to unify the European Championship and the Intercontinental Championship, and the European Championship was dropped. Finally, the Hardy Boyz split apart, as Hardy continued to pursue his singles ambitions on Raw and his brother, Matt was drafted to SmackDown!. In January 2003, he had a brief heel turn that began after he attacked Van Dam and Shawn Michaels. It ended a month later when he saved Stacy Keibler from an attack by then-heel, Christian. In February, he had a brief program with Michaels, which saw the two team up. Then, in storyline, Hardy hooked up with Trish Stratus after saving her from Steven Richards and Victoria in March. Hardy and Stratus had a brief on-screen relationship that saw the duo talking backstage, kissing, and teaming together in matches. Hardy, however, was released from WWE on April 22, 2003. The reasons given for the release were Hardy's erratic behavior, drug use, refusal to go to rehab, deteriorating ring performance, as well as constant tardiness and no-showing events. Hardy also cites "burn out" and the need for time off as reasons for leaving WWE. Time off and independent circuit (2003) Hardy made his first wrestling appearance after being released from WWE at an OMEGA, on May 24. Using his old gimmick, "Willow the Wisp", Hardy challenged Krazy K for the OMEGA Cruiserweight Championship, but lost the match. Hardy performed with the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion on one occasion. Hardy appeared at ROH's 2003 show, Death Before Dishonor, under his "Willow the Wisp" gimmick, wearing a mask and trench coat. Hardy was quickly unmasked and lost his jacket, wearing attire similar to that he wore in WWE. Hardy was booed and heckled before, during, and after the match by the ROH audience, who chanted "We want Matt!" and "You were fired!" during his match with Joey Matthews and Krazy K, which Hardy won. Hardy then took a whole year off of wrestling to concentrate on motocross and finish his motocross track. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2004–2006) Hardy debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on June 23, 2004, at the Second Anniversary Show, in a match against TNA X Division Champion A.J. Styles, for the title. He also debuted his new entrance theme "Modest", a song performed by Hardy himself, and his new nickname "The Charismatic Enigma". The match ended in a no-contest when Kid Kash and Dallas interfered. Hardy returned to TNA on July 21 and was awarded a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy challenged for the title on September 8, losing to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett. In October 2004, he won a tournament, earning a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on November 7 at Victory Road. Hardy was defeated by Jarrett once again in a ladder match at Victory Road following interference from Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. One month later at Turning Point, Hardy, Styles and Randy Savage defeated Jarrett, Hall and Nash (collectively known as the Kings of Wrestling). Hardy went on to defeat Hall in a singles match, substituting for Hector Garza at Final Resolution on January 16, 2005. At Against All Odds in February 2005, Hardy lost to Abyss in a "Full Metal Mayhem" match for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy returned the favor by defeating Abyss in a Falls Count Anywhere match at Destination X in March. Hardy then went on to feud with Raven, with Hardy booked to defeat Raven in a steel cage match at Lockdown in April. Hardy was suspended from TNA after no-showing his "Clockwork Orange House of Fun" rematch with Raven at Hard Justice on May 15, allegedly due to travel difficulties. Hardy's suspension was lifted on August 5, and he returned at Sacrifice approximately a week later, attacking Jeff Jarrett. He wrestled his first TNA match in four months at Unbreakable on September 11, losing to Bobby Roode following interference from Jarrett. Throughout October 2005, Hardy became embroiled in a feud with Abyss, Rhino and Sabu. The four way feud culminated in a Monster's Ball match at Bound for Glory on October 23, which Rhino won after delivering a second rope Rhino Driver to Hardy. In the course of the match, Hardy delivered a Swanton Bomb to Abyss from a height of approximately seventeen feet (5.18 m). Later that night, Hardy competed in a ten-man battle royal for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which Rhino also won. At Genesis in November, Hardy lost to Monty Brown in another number one contender match. Hardy was scheduled to wrestle on the pre-show of Turning Point in December 2005, but once again no-showed the event, again citing traveling problems. Hardy was suspended as a result and did not appear on TNA television again. In March, April, and May 2006, Hardy appeared on several house shows promoted by TNA in conjunction with Dave Hebner and the United Wrestling Federation. World Wrestling Entertainment Return (2006) On August 4, 2006, WWE announced that Hardy had re-signed with the company. In the following weeks, vignettes aired hyping his return on the August 21 episode of Raw. On the day of his return, Hardy received a push and defeated then-WWE Champion Edge by disqualification when Lita pulled Edge out of the ring. After failing to capture the Intercontinental Championship from Johnny Nitro over the next few weeks, including at Unforgiven, Hardy finally defeated Nitro to win his second Intercontinental Championship on the October 2 edition of Raw. On the November 6 episode of Raw, Hardy lost the Intercontinental Championship back to Nitro, after Nitro hit him with the Intercontinental Championship title belt. One week later, Hardy regained it on the November 13 edition of Raw, with a crucifix pin. This marked Hardy's third reign as Intercontinental Champion. The Hardys reunion (2006–2007) On the November 21 episode of ECW Hardy teamed with his brother Matt for the first time in almost five years to defeat the Full Blooded Italians. At Survivor Series, they both were a part of Team DX, which gained the victory over Team Rated-RKO with a clean sweep. The brothers then received their first opportunity since Hardy's return to win a tag team championship. They competed in a 4-team Ladder match for the WWE Tag Team Championship at Armageddon, but they came up short in their attempt. In the course of the match, however, they inadvertently legitimately injured Joey Mercury's face. With Hardy still feuding with Johnny Nitro and MNM into 2007, he was challenged once again by Nitro at New Year's Revolution in a Steel Cage match for the Intercontinental Championship. Hardy once again defeated Nitro. Hardy then teamed with Matt to defeat MNM at both the Royal Rumble and No Way Out. The next night on Raw, February 19, Hardy was defeated for the Intercontinental title by Umaga. In April 2007, Hardy competed in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 23. During the match, Matt threw Edge onto a ladder and encouraged Hardy, who was close to the winning briefcase, to finish him off.86 Hardy then leaped off the ladder nearly twenty feet, drove Edge through the ladder with a leg drop, seemingly injuring both Edge and himself. The two were unable to continue the match and were removed from ringside on stretchers. The next night on Raw, April 2, the Hardys competed in a 10-team battle royal for the World Tag Team Championship. They won the titles after eliminating Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch. They then began a feud with Cade and Murdoch, with the Hardys retaining the Championships in their first title defense against them at Backlash and again at Judgment Day. The Hardys, however, dropped the titles to Cade and Murdoch on June 4 on Raw. The Hardys earned a rematch at Vengeance but were defeated. Main event status and first WWE Championship reign In the midst of feuding with , who defeated Hardy at retain the in late July, Hardy was abruptly taken off programming. He posted on his own website and in the forums of The Hardy Show.com that it was time off to heal, stemming from a bad fall taken in a match against Mr. Kennedy on the July 23 edition of Raw. He made his return on the August 27 edition of Raw beating by disqualification after Umaga interfered. The following week, on September 3, Hardy successfully captured his fourth Intercontinental Championship by defeating Umaga for the title. This was the start of a push for Hardy, and at , Hardy and were the last two standing to win the traditional elimination match. Hardy began an on and off tag team with Triple H, which eventually led to a respectful feud between the two. The feud continued at , when Hardy defeated Triple H to become the number one contender for the WWE Championship. In the weeks leading up to the , Hardy and engaged in a personal feud. It began when Orton kicked Hardy's brother, Matt, in the head in the storyline. Hardy, in retaliation, Swanton Bombed Orton from the top of the Raw set and seemed to have all the momentum after coming out on top in their encounters. Hardy, however, lost the title match at the Royal Rumble, but was named as one of six men to compete in an match at , where he survived to the final two before being eliminated by the eventual winner, Triple H. During the March 3 edition of Raw, Hardy appeared on "Highlight Reel" segment as a special guest, but ended up delivering a Twist of Fate to Jericho. This led to an Intercontinental title match on the following Raw where Hardy dropped the title to Jericho. Off-screen, Hardy dropped the title after he was suspended for sixty days, as of March 11, for his second violation of the company's Substance Abuse and Drug Testing Policy. Hardy was also removed from the at the suspension was announced. Hardy returned on the May 12 edition of Raw, defeating Umaga via pinfall. This reignited the feud between the two, and they met in a Falls Count Anywhere match at One Night Stand, which Hardy won. '''Feud with Edge and Matt Hardy At the 2008 Survivor Series after months of being in the title chase Hardy finally looked like he would have a good shot and winning the title in a triple threat against and Vladimir Koslov. However, the night before the pay-per-view, Hardy was attacked. Edge then returned and captured the . It was rumoured that Edge was the one behind the attacks. Around the time Christian made his return it was rumoured he would come back as a heel and team up with brother Edge and be behind the attack on Hardy. At the 2008 Armageddon, Hardy faced Triple H and Edge in a Triple-Threat Match for the WWE Championship. Hardy won the title after hitting the Swanton Bomb on Edge, while Triple H was outside the ring. In the weeks following Armageddon, Hardy had a number of "accidents" such as his entrance pyrotechnics hitting him in the face, being run off the road by a speeding car and his house setting on fire. Although the WWE never confirmed that these incidents were anything other than accidents, the fans believed that Hardy's rival, and number-one contender to his title, Edge, was behind the attacks. At the 2009 Royal Rumble Edge got a rematch against Hardy, but before the match started, SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero (and Edge's wife) announced that it would be no-disqualification match. Towards the end of the match, Hardy hit the Swanton Bomb on Edge and went for the pin, but Vickie pulled the referee out of the ring. Matt Hardy then came to the ring and placed a steel chair under Edge's head and instructed Jeff to hit the move called the Con-Chair-To. As Jeff was about to hit Edge with another chair, Matt smashed his brother in the head with the steel chair, and Edge covered Jeff to regain the WWE Championship. On the SmackDown following the Royal Rumble, Matt Hardy came out and announced that it was him who was behind the attacks on his brother, and that he felt no remorse about it. He also said that he felt that he didn't have a brother any more. At No Way Out 2009, Hardy battled in the Elimination Chamber for the WWE Championship against Champion Edge, Triple H, Big Show, Vladimir Kozlov and The Undertaker. Hardy and Edge started the match, and Hardy eliminated the champion after less than five minutes. Hardy was then eliminated by Undertaker after a Tombstone Piledriver. Jeff faced his brother in an Extreme Rules match at Wrestlemania 25 and lost the match Jeff finally got his revenge and defeated Matt at Backlash in an "I Quit" match Matt got drafted to the RAW brand Matt got his revenge for the "I Quit" match by costing Jeff the World Heavyweight Championship The feud between the two has boiled down a bit as Matt is on RAW and Jeff is on SmackDown. Second World Title Reign (2009) At the Smackdown show after the Judgment Day PPV, Jeff defeated Edge to declaire the stipulation in the upcoming Extreme Rules rematch. He chose a Ladder Match. At the Extreme Rules PPV, Jeff finally regained the title by tying Edge up in the ladder and getting the Title down from the top of the ladder. With a limping and hurting Jeff Hardy holding the , decided to cash in the Money in the Bank briefcase and hit the Go 2 Sleep twice and winning the Heavyweight Championship. On a RAW episode that aired on June 15th, CM Punk retained the title after Hardy hit the Swanton Bomb on Edge and Punk took advantage of the Swanton Bomb's damage. Hardy lost to CM Punk at the Bash by disqualification. Therefore, Punk regained his title. At WWE Night of Champions, Jeff Hardy won the World Heavyweight Championship once again. Hardy then lost to CM Punk at SummerSlam and then lost again at the SmackDown show the next week in which he left the WWE. Arrest & Loser Leaves WWE match (2009) Hardy was involved in a long storyline with CM Punk and was involved in a Steel cage match in which to loser would leave the WWE, He lost and was attacked by Punk minutes later. On September 11th, Jeff was arrested for owning and possibly using illegal drugs. He was given a trial which is taking place on September 30th. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling return (2010) On January 4th, Hardy made his return for the company in 4 years by attacking Homicide after a Steel Asylum match. On the 8th of March, He officially made his return by getting involved with the feud between AJ Styles & Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan & Abyss. Wrestling facts *Finishing and signature moves :*''Swanton Bomb'' (High Angled Senton) :*''Twist of Fate'' (Front Facelock Cutter) :*''Whisper in the Wind'' (Corkscrew Senton, WWE) :*Reverse of Fate (Inverted Facelock Neckbreaker Slam) *Nicknames :*'"The Charismatic Enigma"' :*'"The Rainbow-Haired Warrior"' :*'"The Legend Thriller"' :*'"The Extreme Enigma"' :*"The Strange Enigma" *Tag teams and stables :* The Hardy Boyz (with Matt Hardy) (1998 - 2009) :* Team Xtreme (with Lita & Matt Hardy) :* The New Brood *Managers :* Lita (2000-2002) :* Michael Hayes (1999) :* Terri *Wrestlers trained :* Caprice Coleman :* Kirby Mack :* Lexie Fyfe :* Lita :* Shannon Moore *Theme music :* "Loaded" by Zack Tempest (WWE, first theme) :* "No More Words" by Endeverafter (WWE, 2nd theme) :* "Modest" by Peroxwhy?gen (TNA) Championships and accomplishments *'Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts' :* OMEGA New Frontiers Championship (1 time - first) :* OMEGA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Matt Hardy *'World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment' :* World Heavyweight Championship (1 time) :* World Tag Team Championship (6 times) - with Matt Hardy :* WCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Matt Hardy :* WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (4 times) :* WWE Championship (1 time) :* WWE Hardcore Championship (3 times) :* WWE European Championship (1 time) :* WWE Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) :* Slammy Award for Extreme Moment of the Year (2008) :* Slammy Award for Most Shocking Moment of the Year (with CM Punk) (2009 - 2010) External links * Jeff Hardy's profile at WWE.com